“We’re doing everything we can, as quick as we can, to get this done and hopefully it’ll never happen again.”
If you’ve noticed Regina’s tap water giving off an unusual smell and taste lately, the answer lies along the surface of Buffalo Pound Lake.
What is blue-green algae?
Blue-green algae is actually not an algae, but rather a naturally-occurring cyanobacteria that exists in water bodies that are extra high in nutrients like nitrogen or phosphorus from surrounding soil.
It’s known to be present in many of southern Saskatchewan’s waters, most often lakes, reservoirs or any water that is shallow, warm and slow-moving, like ponds or dugouts.
“What happens is that you get those warm, hot, dry conditions with not a lot of wind or wave action, and this algae starts to form,” said Boyle in an interview Monday. “It just really thrives in those conditions.”
Boyle described the blooms as having a “shimmering or foamy pea soup-like appearance” as they sit on the top of the water, often along the shoreline. They can be blue or green in colour — earning the algae its name — as well as grey or tan, and give off a rotten-egg smell.
Swimming in water with blue-green algae bloom can cause what Boyle called “swimmer’s itch.” It’s not critically dangerous but warrants an after-swim rinse-off to be safe.
Where these foamy blooms become a larger health risk is if a person were to ingest water straight from the lake — something WSA warns against for both people and animals.
“It can cause red skin, sore throat, cramps, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea,” said Boyle. “And what’s more important is that you don’t let your pets or livestock around it. It can actually be toxic to some animals.”
Boyle said it can be tough to predict where the blooms will appear, but some water bodies, like Buffalo Pound Lake, are known to be “prone” to these formations.
Blue-green algae blooms can last up to three weeks at a time, and tend to dissipate on their own or because of movement in the water.
Should we drink the water?
CEO of the Buffalo Pound Water Treatment Plant Ryan Johnson assures residents their tap water is safe to consume and meets all regulatory requirements, even if it smells a little off.
“We don’t have room for errors because water is human health,” said Johnson on Monday. “Taste and odour is inconvenient — and it’s not acceptable, I agree — but really, it is safe.”
Any lingering odour or taste is because of an algae bloom on the lake, plus a disruption in the filtration systems available during the plant’s ongoing $325-million upgrade, he said.
Construction took a spare granular activated carbon filter off-line, limiting capacity the last few weeks to address taste and odour issues. Powdered activated carbon is being used in the interim, but is less effective.
Johnson said he’s received quite a few calls, all of which he’s responded to with the promise that crews are working to mitigate impacts.
The plant is nearly finished switching over to biologically-activated carbon filters, which will fix the problem year-round. Operators started testing the new filters on Monday, the first step in bringing new systems online.
“By the end of this month, we should be up and running with that taste and odour removal, and these problems should go away,” he said.
“We’re doing everything we can, as quick as we can, to get this done and hopefully it’ll never happen again.”
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